Maldives this week: 7-13 March 2022
Last week's key headlines.
On 13 March, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine and called for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict. He also said that the government has formulated a plan to mitigate the impact on the Maldives from the conflict and has started implementing it.
On 13 March, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that the country has sustained losses of around MVR71.3 billion over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 13 March, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced that the public health emergency announced in the country with the COVID-19 pandemic has been revoked effective the same day.
On 13 March, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) announced that face masks will no longer be mandatory across the country, except in health facilities and is islands with positivity rates above 20 percent. It also announced that PCR tests will no longer be required for travel to the Maldives, for both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers.
On 12 March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel had met with the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the United States Department of State, Donald Lu and the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for South and Central Asia at USAID, Theodora Dell. Discussions were held on the establishment of a resident US embassy and cooperation in the fields of education, environment and climate change, and economic cooperation.
On 10 March, Island Aviation Services (IAS) said that the Maldivian will commence flights to Sri Lanka's Ratmalana Airport from 27 March.
On 10 March, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the seventh amendment to the Judges Act of the Maldives, mandating maternity and paternity leave, with pay, for judges and justices.
On 10 March, the High Court accepted the appeal case filed on the charges against Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof for accepting bribes. The Criminal Court had dismissed the case citing lack of sufficient evident.
On 9 March, Minority Leader of Parliament Ahmed Saleem responded to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's presidential address at the opening session of parliament on 9 March.
On 8 March, the Ministry of Health announced the opening of a new 272-bed COVID-19 treatment facility in Hulhumalé.
On 8 March, the President's Office said that the Cabinet deliberated on the current situation of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the potential effects of the war on the Maldivian economy, as well as pre-emptive steps to mitigate these.
On 8 March, the Maldivian Democratic Party's national council voted to delay its election for party chairperson to 14 May.
On 7 March, the Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Qu Dongyu arrived in the Maldives on a two-day official visit.
On 7 March, the parliament committee on independent institutions approved the nominations submitted by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for appointment to the Anti-Corruption Commission.
On 7 March, the Embassy of Japan in the Maldives donated MVR1.2 million to the Mukurimagu Ward School in L. Gan, under the 'Grass Roots Human Security Project.'
